California has close to 2 million undocumented residents — and 8% of households include a family member without a permanent legal status.
This year, President Donald Trump’s return to the White House has brought promises of “mass deportations,” high-profile raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and a sharp rise in immigration arrests in California.
In the Bay Area, rumors of ICE sightings continue to spread alongside news of real, verified operations by immigration agents. And even after a “surge” of federal immigration enforcement planned in the region for the week of Oct. 20 was called off, Bay Area residents remain on high alert.
As NPR has noted, immigration agents are frequently given wide latitude in the line of duty – meaning a good number of the tactics witnessed by the public since Trump’s inauguration, while shocking to many, are likely legal. And despite California’s relatively strong stance on protecting undocumented families, people without legal status in the United States have always been at risk of deportations.
But in stressful, uncertain times like these, advocates have emphasized that one of the best things people can do is to know their rights. Keep reading for what activists and legal experts say people should know about when dealing with immigration officers.
It may also be helpful to carry a card that details your rights, like this printable version from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.
Bear in mind that the information below is not legal advice, and it’s recommended that you consult an immigration attorney for guidance on your specific situation.(Jump straight to a list of free or low-cost lawyers in the Bay Area.)
ICE agents can sometimes wear uniforms or gear that suggests they are police officers or probation officers, according to the American Civil Liberties Union Southern California.
This can sometimes help agents enter a home without a warrant. In 2018, several San Francisco police commissioners called on ICE to stop these practices, saying it interfered with local policing. ICE agents can also wear civilian clothes or plain dark clothing with a bulletproof vest.
Police officers, however, usually wear a more specific-looking uniform “with identifying insignias,” says ACLU SoCal.
ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are both immigration enforcement agencies within the Department of Homeland Security.
ICE conducts enforcement within the U.S. and manages detention and deportation operations.
CBP conducts inspections at all U.S. “ports of entry” — at land borders, seaports and airports. And the Border Patrol, which is part of CBP, polices the land borders in between the official ports of entry.
Similar to ICE, CBP officers may have “police” written prominently on their uniform. “U.S. Customs and Border Protection” may be written on their sleeve or on their back.
Federal law grants additional powers to CBP within a wide border zone that the government has defined as 100 air miles from an “external boundary” of the U.S. Within that zone — which covers most coastal cities in the country, as well as the entire Bay Area — CBP officers and Border Patrol agents can stop and question people and board vessels, buses and trains to search for unauthorized immigrants without a warrant. They would still need a warrant — or consent — to enter a house, however.
In recent months, Border Patrol agents have been deployed to American cities, including Los Angeles and Chicago, to conduct immigration arrests that would ordinarily be handled by ICE.
In spite of this “dissolving” of the distinction between ICE and CBP functions, Bree Bernwanger, a senior attorney at the ACLU of Northern California, says, “both agencies are bound by the same laws and the same rules, especially in the interior of the United States.”
“And that’s true in the Bay Area, even though we are close to this maritime border,” said Bernwanger. “That doesn’t matter: If you’re a person walking down the street, if you’re a person driving your private car, Border Patrol and ICE are bound by the same rules.”
In these scenarios, “they have to have a reason to stop you,” said Bernwanger. They have to have a reason to suspect that you’re violating an immigration law.”
In most cases, both ICE and CBP also require a judicial warrant to enter a private property and an administrative warrant to make an arrest (more on this below.)
CBP and ICE powers at border checkpoints — including airports and land crossings – are strongest. Here, officers can ask questions, carry out personal searches and detain people with wide latitude, Ahilan Arulanantham, co-director of the UCLA School of Law’s Center for Immigration Law & Policy, told NPR.
But outside of this specific border context, Arulanantham stressed the difference between a “consensual” encounter with immigration agents – where you have the right to leave — and a detention.
“The first question anyone should ask if they feel uncomfortable when approached by any officer is ‘Am I free to leave?’ If the officer says they are, then they should exercise their right to leave,” Arulanantham told NPR. “If the officer tries not to answer, the individual should repeat the question until they get a response.”
Advocates stress that you also have the right to remain silent, in all cases, when it comes to encountering ICE agents. If — for whatever reason — it’s not possible for you to remain silent, ACLU SoCal suggests taking the following steps — while prioritizing your physical safety:
Ask the right questions:
Make sure the encounter is witnessed somehow:
You can send the video or audio of the encounter to advocacy organizations, for example the ACLU’s Mobile Justice app, for them to evaluate whether the footage might show any potential abuses of authority. KQED also has a guide on your rights when filming officers and how to report ICE activity to local advocates.
Under the Fourth Amendment, if ICE agents or any law enforcement officer — comes to your door and wants to enter your home, they either need:
Agents could also technically enter without permission if they report hearing an emergency happening inside the home.
If you don’t want the agent to come in, legal advocates say, you don’t have to open the door unless the agent shows you a judicial warrant. (Advocates suggest asking the agent to slide the warrant under the door or hold it up to a window where you can read it so you don’t have to step outside.)
“ICE will often trick you into giving consent by saying they are investigating a crime or need to ‘take a quick look around’ or ‘come in to talk,” warns the National Immigrant Law Center (NILC).
If a judge does not sign the warrant, NILC says you can tell the agent that you do not want to talk right now.
Your rights are strongest in your home.
So, if you encounter ICE agents outside your home and you don’t have any documentation, you have the right to remain silent and refuse to answer any questions. You also have a right to a lawyer, although one may not be provided for you by the government.
The law requires noncitizens to carry their papers, such as a green card or Employment Authorization Document, with them — and if you have such papers, you should show them to the agent. You still, however, have the right to remain silent while you’re doing so.
To enter private property like a home or the non-public areas of a business, ICE and CBP officers need a judicial warrant.
To arrest a person, ICE and CBP officers generally need an administrative warrant (signed by an ICE or CBP supervisor.) However, they can make an arrest without a warrant if they see a person illegally entering the country or they have “reason to believe” a person is here illegally and likely to escape before they can get a warrant.
That said, even if an immigration officer proceeds with arresting you, you still have constitutional protections, including the right to remain silent so you don’t say something that could incriminate you. Immigration officers cannot detain you without “reasonable suspicion” of a crime, and they cannot search you or your belongings without “probable cause” — unless you give your consent.
ICE tends to go to a workplace for three reasons:
ICE agents can freely enter public areas of a workplace, such as a dining area in a restaurant, a parking lot or a lobby or waiting area. But it does not give them the right to stop, question or arrest just anyone in those spaces.
Agents cannot enter a private area of the business without permission or a judicial warrant. Ask to see this warrant, and see if it is signed by a judge. A judicial warrant is not the same as an administrative warrant, which is signed by an ICE supervisor and generally assists the agent in making arrests.
If an immigration officer comes to your place of work, you do not have to answer questions or answer questions about other employees. But the National Immigration Law Center stresses not to run away — instead, they recommend that it’s “safer to continue working, ask if you are being detained, and calmly ask if you may leave.”
If you have the ability to record the agents and if they do have a warrant, make sure they are doing what the warrant is allowing them to do.
You still have the right to remain silent and the right to a lawyer. However, you should not lie about your immigration status, according to the National Immigration Law Center.
Do not sign any documents without speaking to a lawyer first.
Note the officer who detained you by writing down their name and number.
You still have the right to receive calls when detained. The government will not provide you with a lawyer, so you or your family will need to secure one on your own.
Use ICE’s online system
If the person is an adult, you can use ICE’s own Online Detainee Locator System to search for them, or you can call (866) 347-2423.
You will need to have the person’s information, like:
According to the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, it may take a few days for a person to appear in this ICE database.
If the name you’re searching for isn’t showing up in the ICE system, or if you’re worried about their safety and possible deportation, you can seek out assistance from advocacy organizations like Freedom for Immigrants through their form online or by calling 209-757-3733. (There’s more on resources for free or low-cost legal support below.)
Check the Bureau of Prisons’ search tool
According to the NILC, this year, “CE began using prisons run by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to hold people for immigration cases.”
You can use the Bureau of Prisons’ search tool to look up a person. NILC says that people who are being held by the Bureau of Prisons should also show up in the ICE online locator system.
If you know someone was detained nearby one of these prisons, you can try calling that individual facility too.
Looking for a minor?
If you are trying to find a minor you suspect has been detained, you can call ICE at 1-800-203-7001.
You can also email the Office of Refugee Resettlement at information@ORRNCC.com.
Reach out to an ICE field office
The ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations field office is in San Francisco, with an area of responsibility that includes Northern California, Hawaii, Guam and Saipan.
You can contact theSF field office – which is located at 630 Sansome Street – by phone at (415) 365-8800 or by email at SanFrancisco.Outreach@ice.dhs.gov.
Please note: NILC warns that if you’re calling or emailing a field office, “don’t give more information than you need to,” and “only give the necessary A number or basic information, like name and country of birth, that you would use in the online locator.”
If you can’t reach anyone at the field office, San Francisco has an ICE Community Relations Officer, who can be reached at CommunityRelations.SanFrancisco@ice.dhs.gov.
Call a detention facility
ICE’s website lists five detention facilities associated with the agency’s San Francisco field office, but not all of them are in the Bay Area or even California.
If you know someone is being held at a detention facility, you can call to try to get more information about them. The facilities include:
According to ICE’s website, people detained cannot receive incoming calls. You would have to leave a message with the office, along with the detainee’s full name, alien registration number, as well as your name and telephone number where you can be reached.
Contact the person’s consulate
According to the NILC, “All immigrants in ICE jails have the right to contact their country’s consulate.”
You can also try contacting this office yourself in an effort to find a person. However, the NILC strongly suggests that you do not do this if the person is applying for asylum or fears for their life back in said country.
KPBS, the NPR and PBS station of San Diego, has a video guide on how to use publicly available data released by ICE:
@kpbssandiego Did you know that the federal government has a public spreadsheet that shows you exactly who is being held in immigration detention? It gives you an up-to-date picture of what is going on around the country, and is available for anyone to look up at any time. KPBS San Diego’s border reporter Gustavo Solis is here to show you how to access it. #sandiego #border #usmexicoborder #ice #immigration ♬ original sound – KPBS San Diego
Look up their possible court date
If you are worried someone is being subject to expedited removal, check if they have a court hearing. “If someone has a pending court date, they have not yet been subject to expedited removal,” said Jordan Weiner, the legal director of the Removal Defense Program at La Raza Centro Legal in San Francisco. “But once expedited removal is applied, their court date will go away.”
You can search for someone’s next hearing date by using their A number on the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s website.
People who are especially vulnerable to quick deportation without a hearing are those who are detained and do not have information showing up on the EOIR website – because they were never issued a notice to appear.
If someone has their case dismissed or didn’t show up on the system and then later shows up with an upcoming court date, “this likely means they passed their credible fear interview and are back in proceedings before an immigration judge,” Weiner explained.
“Which is good because it means they can fight their case.”
Immigration advocates highly encourage people who think they have seen ICE sightings in their neighborhood to call them instead of posting on social media. With these hotlines, the advocates can fact-check these sightings. This practice aims to prevent the spread of misinformation online, which can ripple to larger panic in the community.
These numbers can change, so be sure to visit California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice’s updated hotline list on their website.
More contacts can be found on California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice’s website.
Selected resources for free or low-cost legal support:
This story contains reporting from KQED’s Tyche Hendricks and Carly Severn.
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